<p>At Top Public School, Rising Stars Dodge Falling Ceiling Tiles</p>
<p>Mildew, Bugs and Masonry
Bedevil Thomas Jefferson;
Water Wrecks a Computer</p>
<p>By DIYA GULLAPALLI
August 28, 2006; Page A1</p>
<p>ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology routinely reports among the nation’s highest average SAT results and number of National Merit Scholarship finalists. Ronald Reagan and Al Gore have addressed its students, and educators from overseas often tour the school in search of inspiration. </p>
<p>But recently, what’s made the biggest impression isn’t the school’s supercomputer or its quantum physics lab – it’s the moldy ceilings. And the bug infestations. And the fact that the school’s young whizzes have been repeatedly threatened by falling ceiling panels, light fixtures and pieces of steel air ducts. </p>
<p>[Elizabeth Lodal] </p>
<p>Some classrooms were so mildewed that parents complained their kids were developing allergies and had to use inhalers. A few months ago, then-principal Elizabeth Lodal visited a particularly musty anthropology classroom, where the school newspaper quoted her as saying, “I could feel my throat closing,” and, “I’ve got to get out of here.” </p>
<p>Ms. Lodal, who retired this month, confirms she had trouble breathing in the classroom.</p>
<p>The poor condition of America’s public schools is a big concern for parents and politicians, and, as its crumbling infrastructure suggests, even an institution with the stature of Thomas Jefferson isn’t immune.</p>
<p>Between 2002 and 2006, TJ, as it is known, had more students qualify for the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad, a prestigious contest, than any other U.S. high school. Last year, the lead singer and flutist for the rock band Jethro Tull spoke to the Classic Rock Appreciation Club. France’s Ambassador to the U.S., Jean-David Levitte, addressed French and government classes last year.</p>
<p>Yet now the school faces hundreds of angry comments contained in a Parent, Teacher and Student Association petition created to address the building’s decrepit state. Started late last year, it now numbers 1,442 signatures. </p>
<p>“These conditions remind me of why I took my kids out of Guam’s public school system and came here,” wrote one parent, Joseph Mafnas.</p>
<p>“I have had mice crawl up my leg and arm,” added Karen Duke, a former administrative assistant at TJ. She also complained about having to kill cockroaches and encountering “a room infested with small ants.” </p>
<p>Comment number 1279 points out that TJ’s science rooms “don’t even have [an] updated Periodic Table of Elements.” Until the problem was recently fixed, among the missing elements was Ununquadium, which scientists identified in 1998. </p>
<p>TJ is located in the wealthy suburban enclave of Alexandria, just outside Washington, D.C. It’s part of the nation’s 13th-largest school district, Fairfax County Public School system, which has lots of other schools to fix first. TJ isn’t scheduled for renovations for at least another five years, even though the school board voted in 2004 to increase enrollment by about 50 students a year. The current total is about 1,800. </p>
<p>TJ is better off than many U.S. public schools on their best days. It offers labs where students can study DNA, build satellites and learn about artificial intelligence. A few years ago, parents launched a not-for-profit group called the Jefferson Partnership Fund to raise money to buy equipment. One result was a $15,000 spectrophotometer, a device that’s used to measure light intensity, donated by Exxon Mobil Corp.</p>
<p>The school also has a new supercomputer, courtesy of tech firm Cray Inc. A leaky roof destroyed the school’s previous supercomputer, which students won in the 1980s as part of a science competition.</p>
<p>School officials acknowledge something has to be done about the building. Visitors “aren’t very impressed,” says Dr. Evan Glazer, TJ’s new principal. “They would anticipate an environment that looks innovative.” Dr. Glazer says the school system has a tight budget for repairs. TJ is “working with the county” to make needed improvements, he adds. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, students are taking matters into their own hands. One group won permission to repaint some bathrooms with science montages. One, titled “Bathroom Brains,” features walls covered in neuroscience trivia, while another has an evolution theme, including definitions of terms such as “bryophytes” and “angiosperm” (mosses and flowering plants). </p>
<p>There are some problems a fresh coat of paint can’t solve. Earlier this summer, some bathrooms had a problem with standing water on the floor. Two sophomores, Grace Ko and Heesu Kim, walked out of the evolution-themed ladies’ room with their noses scrunched. “This school is old; it’s falling apart,” said Ms. Ko. </p>
<p>Anthropology teacher Carolyn Gecan used the bathrooms as a teachable moment. Last year, her students conducted a “field study” to understand how humans interact with the spaces around them. The kids surveyed their peers with questions such as, “do you ever limit fluid intake in order to avoid using the bathroom during the school day?” (About a quarter answered “yes.”) </p>
<p>The students, who visited the bathrooms of the opposite sex, were shocked by the conditions, says Ms. Gecan, who presented the findings at a school-board meeting this year.</p>
<p>TJ’s other recurring problem has to do with objects falling from ceilings. Parent Lisa Greenfield saw an injured student being escorted out of a lab last May after a falling-tile incident. Ms. Greenfield was at the school celebrating its 20th anniversary. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, a massive air vent plummeted to the gymnasium floor during a physical-education class, missing students playing volleyball below. An activities director carried the duct piece to the principal’s office, where by chance she was meeting with the president of the parents’ association. </p>
<p>Laura Fletcher, who graduated this June, recalls standing with a group of friends when a ceiling tile dropped a couple of floors down a stairwell, shattering on the floor nearby. "Everyone was kind of like, ‘Uh, I have to go to class now,’ " Ms. Fletcher says. </p>
<p>Despite its problems, “student achievement at TJ is still outstanding,” says Dean Tistadt, assistant superintendent for facilities and transportation services for Fairfax County Public Schools. This year TJ sent scores of students to Ivy League and other top schools, including 21 to Princeton University and 11 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. </p>
<p>“Are the bathrooms as nice as they should be? Is the ceiling looking as good as it should be? Definitely not,” Mr. Tistadt says. He says complaints that don’t involve safety mostly will have to wait. More serious matters, such as falling tiles, are addressed right away, he says. He says the mold, for example, is all gone.</p>
I wasn’t advocating it in any way, and I definitely think it’s overrated for the number of kids it sends to Princeton. But seriously, it IS an exceptional school by NJ standards. Don’t kid yourself.</p>